Magarao, officially the Municipality of Magarao, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 25,694 people.
Magarao derived its name from a species of thorny wild bush locally known as garao-garao, which abundantly grows in the area. This type of plant no longer exists today as it was believed that the inhabitants of Magarao hindered its growth and propagation because of its thorny appearance.
It was a group of missionaries from the Order of Friars Minor who founded the town in 1570, although missionary work continued only in the year 1690.
At present, Magarao belongs to the fifth class municipality although there are improvements being made by the local government to hasten its developmental stage. The town, through the initiative of its local officials, allows its constituents to engage into worthwhile activities by providing for them training and seminar workshops on various livelihood projects like ceramics training, papermaking, handicrafts and other community-based industries.
This was made possible due to the combined efforts made by the local government of Magarao and the provincial government of Camarines Sur through the Provincial Livelihood Training, Research and Development Program. PLTRD is geared towards providing community-based industries, identifying projects for product development and skills training and also conducting seminar and workshops for the various livelihood projects.
The residents of Magarao has immersed themselves in opportunities which would not just serve benefits for them but would obviously boost their town’s economic condition.
Coastal barangays are served by bancas that ply from the wharf near Naga City to the barangays of Ponong, Barobaybay and Carigsa along the Bicol River and in the estuarine areas.
Power and electricity is supplied by the Camarines Sur Electric Cooperative II (CASURECO II). (Source: wikipedia.org)